The banquet hall was full of guests who came to give the women a send off and to raise money for a worthy cause. This is the last night in Prince Albert for riders before they embark on their eight-day trek around the province to raise money for breast cancer research.

They say this trip carries a lot of personal meaning for them.

“I personally lost a grandma,” rider Courtney Hogemann says. “Breast cancer has affected my family on both sides, so I’m riding to raise awareness and find a cure.”

Fellow rider Jody Gordon says she has similar feelings.

“Cancer has touched my family personally,” she says. “A lot of people surrounding me have been affected by it, so I really want to make people aware of it and find a cure.”

PWOS has raised almost two million dollars through their annual missions. The mission itself will take the riders across 1,800 kilometre’s of Saskatchewan prairie.

The distance may seem daunting, but not when it’s compared to the disease they’re raising money to fight.

“I’m a breast cancer survivor,” rider Patti Hoffinger says, “I’m riding to make a difference, so that my girls don’t have to go through what I went through.”

After being diagnosed, Hoffinger underwent life saving surgery, followed by chemotherapy. She says it’s difficult to describe how she feels about seeing a group of women volunteer their time for the mission.

“It’s great,” she says. “There are no words to express it.”

The PWOS will start their journey from R&W Custom Collision in Prince Albert and finish on Feb. 7 in Nipawin. All funds raised from the trip will go towards breast cancer research in Saskatchewan.